The Swaziland Reformed Church was founded in 1944 and become a congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa in 1967. Later the Swaziland Missionary Board was formed to coordinate the missionary work of the Reformed Church in Swaziland. In 1989 Swaziland become a Regional Synod of the denomination. In 1991 the Swaziland Reformed Church became independent and has 20 communities within which it is working. The church was a member of the

Reformed Ecumenical Council The Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) was an international organization of Calvinist churches. It had 39 member denominations from 25 countries in its membership, and those churches have about 12 million people together. It was founded August 14, 1 ...

and later became a member of the

World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Reformed (Calvinist) churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations (227 members and three associate or affiliate members) in 108 countries, together claiming ...

History

The Swaziland Reformed Church was founded in 1944 when Efraim Khumalo was called as the first evangelist of the Reformed Church to work in Swaziland. In 1945 Rev. Frikkie Malan was called to

Swaziland Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where ...

as a missionary of the church. He was followed by Jan Greyling and Louis Swanepoel. They divided the country in two (north of the Usutu river and south of the river) and each minister took responsibility for one part. On January 31, 1967 these parts were united again and become a part of the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA). Northern Transvaal, Southern Transvaal and Western Transvaal Synods of the

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

(DRC) financially supported the work in Swaziland. Rev Johannes Malan left Swaziland in 1977 and was followed up by Rev. Hennie Pretorius in 1978. Shortly afterwards he was joined by Rev. Peet Erasmus and Rev. Willem Fourie. On 17 May 1978, it was decided to divide the one Swazi congregation into three different congregations, with Manzini, Mbabane and Nhlangano as the three main centres. As these ministers left Swaziland to work in other congregations in South Africa, new ministers had to be called to Swaziland. In 1984 Koos Louw started work in the Hhohho congregation (Mbabane) and Hennie Basson started in the Manzini congregation, but was stationed at Siteki. In 1985 Arnau van Wyngaard started working in the Shiselweni congregation (Nhlangano) and Wessel Bester also joined the Manzini congregation and was also stationed in Manzini. In 1989 these congregations founded a regional Synod within the DRCA. In 1991 the independent Reformed Church in Swaziland was formed, and no longer belonged to the DRCA. The first Swazi minister was Musa Shongwe. The Shiselweni congregation of the church is extremely active in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

Theology

Apostles Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". "Its title is first found c.390 (Ep. 42.5 of Ambro ...

Athanasian Creed The Athanasian Creed—also called the ''Quicunque Vult'' (or ''Quicumque Vult''), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes"—is a Christian statement of belief focused on Trinitarian doctrine and Christolo ...

Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed, also called the Creed of Constantinople, is the defining statement of belief of Nicene Christianity and in those Christian denominations that adhere to it. The original Nicene Creed was first adopted at the First Council of N ...

Canons of Dort The Canons of Dort, or Canons of Dordrecht, formally titled ''The Decision of the Synod of Dort on the Five Main Points of Doctrine in Dispute in the Netherlands'', is an exposition of orthodox Reformed soteriology against Arminianism, by the Nat ...

Belgic Confession The ''Confession of Faith'', popularly known as the Belgic Confession, is a confession to which many Reformed churches subscribe as a doctrinal standard. The Confession forms part of the Three Forms of Unity, which are the official subordinate st ...

Heidelberg Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Reformed catechism taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, Germany. Its ...

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.swazimission.co.za
Shbcare.orgCabsd
Reformed denominations in Africa Members of the World Communion of Reformed Churches Protestantism in Eswatini 1944 establishments in the British Empire